


For Better or for Worse

by Whovian_Overload



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-02-20
Packaged: 2018-03-13 23:31:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3400310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whovian_Overload/pseuds/Whovian_Overload
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tumblr prompt: (River+Twelve) He was clutching a red bowtie and a photo frame when she walked into the console room. “Doctor, what are you doing with those?” She asked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Better or for Worse

**Author's Note:**

> I've been trying to make a spoken language for Gallifreyan so I tried it out here.

The sound of the TARDIS materializing was something River had never thought she’d hear again. It had been years, no, a century since she’d heard the sound last and it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

She rushed out of the 23rd century flat she’d been staying in, to lay eyes on the blue box just outside her door. She approached it hesitantly, reaching out to touch the blue wood, making sure she wasn’t dreaming this as she had done so many times before. The hum of the TARDIS filled her, and she knew it was real, but would he be?

It hadn’t been the Doctor to get her out of the Library all those years ago. She had done it on her own accord by breaking a few codes and bargaining with CAL. Nearly everyone she knew was dead at that point: her parents, her archeological team, even the Doctor. She knew that she couldn’t go to him now since he thought she was dead as well. She knew how his timeline was going to be played out from Clara to Trenzalore and she wasn’t part of it.

It took River a few moments to actually convince her feet to move, but once she did, she walked through the blue doors with as much fake confidence as she could. She stopped, just a few feet into the TARDIS, staring. Everything had changed which shouldn’t have been a surprise to her, but it was so cold now. It used to be bright  and open, but the lights didn’t shine as bright as they used to off the metal console. She made her way to the controls, nostalgia for how it used to be getting the best of her. She nearly jumped when she heard a voice. “You.”

River spun on her heels, coming face to face with a silver haired man whom she didn’t recognize. His face was as unwelcoming as the rest of the room and she shifted her weight uneasily under his sharp gaze. He was clutching a red bow tie and a photo frame and it took her a moment to realize that this man wasn’t a stranger to her at all. "Doctor, what are you doing with those?" She asked carefully, holding her breath. Her words seemed stale in the air.

The man ignored her question circling her like a vulture. “You’re the one in the picture.” He held out the framed photo and pointed a lanky old finger at one of the people. “You’re that one. The curly one…” He snapped his fingers as if trying to remember something. “The flirty one.”

She looked between him and the picture. “Yes, that’s me… and that’s you.” She pointed to the man in the photo with a red bowtie and floppy hair. This was from their second wedding on Viodarium. The Doctor stared at her as if she was talking in tongues and she stared back, trying to take in every feature of this new face. She had photos of his faces, all his faces, except this one and she couldn’t figure out why.

“But why the bowtie?” He exaggerated the word by holding up the red one in his hand. “This thing is ridiculous! And it makes my eyes all… leaky.”

She made a mental note to tease him later about the scottish accent. “Since the first one, you insisted on wearing one to all of our weddings.”

His confusion deeped. “Weddings?” He sunk into the jump seat.

“Yes. Weddings. Our weddings.” Did he not remember them? He was there for all four, even in the teselecta he was there. She knew he had already lived that part of their lives. “Do you not remember standing before me and vowing your love for me in front of our friends and family? Do you not remember insisting that we get married four times?” Panic was rising in her tone.

There was silence for a minute in which River was starting to doubt that he’d meant any of those vows.

“The orangey one was there.” He finally said.

“My mother, yes. She was there.” River said quietly.

“Where did she go?” He looked up at her.

“Amy’s dead, Doctor. You know that. You were there.”

He stared at the wall behind her, trying, straining to remember the day in Manhattan. He looked back at her when he remembered something, but not what he had been aiming for. “You’re dead. I was there for that. You made my eyes all leaky. Twice”

She swallowed and nodded. Out of all the things, he could only remember that she was supposed to be dead. “Yes. I’m dead and you cried. I know.”

He stood and poked her arm. “But now you’re not dead? How is that?”

She pushed his hand away. “Like you even care. I should be asking you the same.” She bit out. She couldn’t handle this. She couldn’t take that he had forgotten her after all they’d been through, after all of those years apart thinking each other to be dead. He didn’t even know her name any more. She looked away from him, not saying anything as she walked back to the door to leave. She wasn’t going to cry in front of him.

“River.”

She stopped with her hand on the door handle. She could hear him approaching one foot step at a time but she refused to turn around. “There’s a ring on your finger that looks like mine.” He said, though got no response from her. “It has your name on it… ‘River’. I don’t call you that because Melody is a silly name. I call you River so you know that you don’t have to be a slave to the Silence anymore.” His breath was on her neck and she realized that he was quoting his vows from their second wedding. The wedding in the picture he still clutched onto. “Ophíkrí siira ka’Ríaravas’E sii dis’Ra’ Ietvamu…” He continued in Gallifreyan.

She felt him wrapping something around her hand and when she glanced down she saw that it was the bowtie. She didn’t move, but didn’t shake it off either. She held tightly onto the cloth, fighting against the hot lump in her throat.  

“And River Song. I will never forget the reason that I married you.” He lightly put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. He tilted her chin up and when she finally looked at him, he smiled softly and kissed her. There didn’t need to be any words to tell her that he remembered now and still loved her.

 

 


End file.
